NOVO SELO, Bulgaria - Soldiers with the 7th Civil Support Command, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, along with service members and civilians from various other units throughout the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, participated in a cultural day with soldiers from 11 partner nations prior to the official start of exercise Saber Guardian 14 March 28.
Saber Guardian 14 is an exercise intended to test the capabilities of partner nations in assisting one another, as requested, in disasters or potential world-wide emergencies.
Saber Guardian's cultural day was a way for service members and civilians participating from all 12 nations to get to know their partners better by participating in a traditional Bulgarian crafts and souvenirs market, eating traditional Bulgarian cuisine, taking a sightseeing trip to the local community, and participating in various sports activities such as races, tug of war and arm wrestling competitions.
Events such as the cultural day give participating nations "an opportunity to learn more about us," said Col. Paul Rosewitz, the operations officer in charge for the 7th CSC and the exercise's Joint Task Force - Consequence Management. "Everyone comes to an event like this with preconceived ideas and notions and this gives us all an opportunity to learn that we're all people and we all have similar interests. It allows us to work through any cultural barriers and gain a better understanding how others do things."
"It helps integrate the cultures between the participating nations," said Sgt. Maj. Edward Knight, the operations sergeant major for the 7th CSC and the JTF-CM. "It also helps to boost esprit de corps across the ranks."
Participating service members and civilians had the opportunity to compete both with and against their partners in a variety of sports events, building on the relationships of the Saber Guardian participants.
"You want to be able to foster relationships for the future," said Staff Sgt. Juan Ariza, a communications noncommissioned officer with the 7th CSC. "You want your neighbors to be with you."
"This is a joint event, not a U.S. event," added Ariza. "It's for all the nations to be able to participate and to do something that will last forever."
Taking part in the cultural day helped service members and civilians from all nations learn more about each other in an environment outside of work and out of uniform.
"The important thing about exercises like this is that we're working with our NATO partners and if we only come in and we spend all our time at Novo Selo and we're always doing our job, we're not learning about their backgrounds, their cultures and how they do things," said Rosewitz. "I think this is a fantastic opportunity to work with our many partners to bring us all together and to forge a better team."
The cultural day also provided all the participating nations an opportunity to see just how the U.S. service members are outside of work.
"They see us in a different light," said Knight "They see us in a non-military side and they see the relaxed and fun side."
"They got to see how we're able to bond together and work together regardless of your rank, what unit you work for or what branch of service you're in," said Ariza. "We're able to come together and work as a team."
The training received during Saber Guardian is designed to replicate the closest possible type of dynamic environment required to address possible future situations and provides service members a unique opportunity to enhance their skills and learn more about the various cultures they will be working with.
"I think this is a fantastic opportunity to work with our many partners to bring us all together and to forge a better team," said Rosewitz. "The realistic thing is that we're always going to go as a coalition to anything that we do and we have got to be able to work with our partners. Cultural day gave us the opportunity to work with them and to build a better team."
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